In This Issue

Know your vaccines

In Australia, levels of consumer trust in vaccines are justifiably high. But, as health authorities in the United Kingdom discovered when the measles - mumps - rubella vaccine was mistakenly linked with autism, such trust is quickly eroded by reports of adverse events. Vaccines do have many components and additives. For providers and consumers who have sensitivities, allergies, or additional concerns, the description of vaccine components and their possible effects by Eldred et al will be an invaluable resource (→ Vaccine components and constituents: responding to consumer concerns). How common are adverse reactions to vaccines in Australia? Thanks to an excellent monitoring system in this country, Wood and Isaacs can provide an accurate and reassuring answer to this question (→ Monitoring vaccine reactions in Australia).

Good morning Launceston

In these days of changed industrial conditions, privacy concerns, rapid patient turnover and the division of medical practice into silos, the tradition of “morning report”, in which the night doctors hand over new or non-stabilised patients to the day staff, has fallen by the wayside in many Australian hospitals. Tenacious Tasmanians Fassett and Bollipo felt that the concept was so important that they re-invented it three times for the staff at Launceston General Hospital. They share their experiences in “Morning report: an Australian experience”.

Wicked problems

Philosophers have long known that some problems don’t have simple linear solutions. Now public health proponents are coming to the same conclusion. For instance, while, biologically, weight maintenance might mean kilojoules eaten versus those expended, there are multiple confounding issues to consider when trying to get the whole population to slim down. Enter the Oxford Health Alliance, an eclectic new group which seeks pragmatic solutions to public health problems by working in unity with government, society and even big business! The University of Sydney has recently joined the alliance, which Leeder and Colagiuri describe in “The Oxford Health Alliance: old problems, new approaches”.

An advancing discipline

As our onging series MJA Practice Essentials — Sports Medicine has demonstrated, the evidence base in sports medicine is rapidly expanding. In the next article in the series (5. Recent advances in sports medicine) Brukner et al discuss what recent research has revealed about the diagnosis and treatment of four common lower limb problems.

Another time . . . another place

The universal iodizing of salt had been objected to on the grounds that it was an unjustifiable interference with the people’s rights; but the method had been evolved from the careful biological study of the goître problem and no dangers were incurred.

Professor CE HercusMed J Aust 1927; 1(13): 430

Correspondence:

Publication of your online response is subject to the Medical Journal of Australia's editorial discretion. You will be notified by email within five working days should your response be accepted.